A proposed change in staffing at the Mundelein Fire Department has village administrators and the firefighters union engaged in a private debate about the move’s potential affect on public safety.

The proposal has not been formally listed on a Village Board agenda, but documents and individuals involved in the discussions say the item was supposed to be scheduled for a vote on Jan. 22 and Feb. 12 but was removed at the last minute both times.

It’s unknown if the draft will be considered at Mundelein’s Feb. 26 meeting.

Pioneer Press obtained a copy of a letter written by firefighter Brett Clark, president of the firefighters union, that was sent to village trustees urging them to consider the employees’ point of view before voting.

“The fire service has always been open to progress and change to better serve our citizens,” the letter reads. “That said, we believe that the changes proposed are not in the best interests of the residents of Mundelein and their safety as well as the safety of our personnel.”

Mundelein officials declined to share a copy of the proposed changes. Clark’s letter referenced an internal memo that informed employees of a plan to eliminate three of the department’s six lieutenant positions through attrition.

“With every position that has been vacated and unfilled, we have been told we are making equitable concessions that are also occurring in other departments within the village — we see no evidence of that,” Clark’s letter reads. “Our staffing has been cut dramatically for the entire organization and is lower than what we had during the recession.”

When contacted, Clark declined to comment or respond to questions on the discussions. Following a Feb. 15 meeting between the union and village administration, Clark said the union agreed to refrain from making public comments for the time being.

When presented with a list of questions following a Feb. 9 meeting between the union and staff, Village Administrator John Lobaito declined to comment saying the matter was being removed from the Feb. 12 agenda pending further negotiations.

Mundelein Professional Fire Fighters Local 4786 filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Village of Mundelein in late January, citing issues relating to a pending staffing change, according to documentation from the Illinois Labor Relations Board.

Responding to an email from Pioneer Press that asked if the village’s public safety leaders were confident in staffing levels and available equipment, Lobaito said the public’s safety is not in doubt.

“Yes, we are confident and the public should be confident that the staffing at the fire department is adequate to serve the public,” Lobaito wrote in a Feb. 12 email.

“The firefighters are well trained and have historically performed their duties in an exemplary manner,” Lobaito continued. “I have no reason to believe this won’t continue. Any discussions that the village is having does not change the number of firefighters responding to calls for service. Likewise, there are no discussions regarding reduction in personnel.”

Lobaito declined to answer follow up questions, including whether his comment means three new firefighters would replace the eliminated lieutenants.

Clark’s letter says the fire department is below “NFPA 1710 standards,” which is a ratio of firefighters per capita suggested by the National Fire Protection Association. The letter also suggested trustees review a 2010 study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology on fire department crew sizes and efficiency.

Pioneer Press was unable to compare the two recommendations against the Mundelein fire department staffing assignments before deadline.

Firefighters first appeared in mass at Village Hall during a Jan. 22 meeting, but declined to explain why they attended. Then, a retired firefighter posted a provocative customized photo in a popular local Facebook group shortly after a Feb. 6 house fire on Prairie Avenue.

The photo showed the house with flames emanating from the roof and a fire truck parked further away from the house.

Text inside the post read, “The village just started paying Libertyville 20K to respond a ladder truck to fires. Today, there was a house fire can you guess what happened?”

However, the photo has since been removed.

The dialogue is in reference to a Nov. 13 decision in which village trustees voted unanimously to sell Mundelein’s 100-foot ladder truck and instead pay Libertyville $14,000 per year plus three percent annual escalators for shared use of their 100-foot ladder truck.

At the time, Police Chief Eric Guenther, who oversees both the police and fire departments, said a study showed the 100-foot ladder truck was used about five times per year over the last five years.

Guenther during that November meeting said the truck is used for commercial property and high rise buildings, and then noted that railroad tracks separate the Cardinal Square high-rise apartment buildings from Mundelein’s fire stations and Libertyville would already arrive first if a train was nearby during an emergency.

However, a Mundelein memo attached to the agreement says the deal goes into effect when Mundelein sells its truck, which it has not yet done. Dispatch records show Libertyville was on back-to-back calls and unavailable to immediately respond to the Feb. 6 fire.

Mark Gaunky, who retired in 2017 at the rank of deputy fire marshal, said he posted the photo out of frustration, but defended the idea that a risk still exists.

“It’s difficult to hold back because I was on the fire department for 28 years and to be someone who helped it grow and now watch it slip backwards, it’s heartbreaking,” Gaunky said.

The agreement with Libertyville acknowledges the possibility that the Libertyville truck might be unavailable from time to time and has no penalties for such instances.

Gaunky also contested Guenther’s described use of the 100-foot ladder truck.

“You can say we only have X amount of high-rises, and that’s true, but we also have a lot of big . . . houses and you need to be able to reach their roofs from the street and you can’t always do that with a 75-foot ladder,” Gaunky said.

Having served as a lieutenant from 2007 until being promoted to deputy fire marshal in 2014, Gaunky said he’s concerned about Mundelein’s plan to remove some of those positions. He said it creates challenges for proper planning, vacation coverage, other extended leaves and adequate rest.